Amanda Peet Writing Children’s Book About Being Jewish

The actress and mother of two to publish Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein

Jewish actress Amanda Peet knows what it’s like to grow up feeling a bit… different. The New York City native and mother of two is writing a children’s book about growing up Jewish, the AP reports. Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein will tell the story of a young Jewish girl who wonders why Santa always skips her house on Christmas.

According to MediaBistro, Peet’s children inspired the book, which she is co-writing with her friend Andrea Troyer.

“When my two children, Frankie and Molly, started asking me why we don’t have a Christmas tree and colored lights on the roof and a plate of cookies for Santa, it was hard to come up with an appealing answer,” explained Peet in a statement. “The book came out of a desire to capture the feeling of being left out during the Christmas holidays and to explain how you can’t always get what you want—and how sorting that out, for Jews and Gentiles alike, is part of what the holiday spirit is all about.”

Peet is no stranger to the literary world. The Columbia grad is married to novelist and screenwriter David Benioff, who is the co-creator of HBO’s Game of Thrones (which means he definitely read all the books). Benioff spoke to Vox Tablet in 2008 about his novel City of Thieves.